Charges are being introduced in Thanet for advice to potential planning applicants from the start of 2011.
The fees were agreed at a meeting of the full Council last night (Thursday 16 December) and will come into effect from 1 January 2011. It’s estimated that the service provided by the council’s team of planning officers costs around £71,000 annually. The new charges could bring in between £15,000 and £30,000 each year and may help to discourage people from putting in speculative requests for advice, which can take up a lot of time.
Homeowners who want to add extensions or carry out other work to their property will still be able to get advice for free from council officers, although this will be reviewed in summer 2011. Applications for properties for the disabled will remain exempt from these charges.
Cllr. Simon Moores, Cabinet Member for Customer Services and Regulatory Services, said: “A number of councils have already introduced similar charges for pre-planning advice. We’ve resisted doing this in the past, as we wanted to encourage potential developers to talk to us about their plans at an early stage. However, in the current climate, we have to ensure that all our services are operating as efficiently as possible. Having planning officers tied up dealing with speculative enquiries that never result in an application is not a good use of their time. The charges we’ll be introducing are in line with other councils and we’ve already had positive feedback from the applicants and agents who attend our user group meetings.”
There will be different rates charged, depending on how big the application is. The lower fees of £150 for written advice only or £250 for a meeting and written confirmation apply to applications for less than 10 homes, changes of use, or smaller non-residential development of 1,000 square metres or less.
Higher fees of £250 for written advice only or £500 for a meeting and written confirmation apply to major developments, proposing 10 or more new homes or non-residential development of 1,000 square metres or more.
There will also be a charge of £48.40 for advice about planning histories or conditions. All prices include VAT.
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